Nothing to Fear
by xo pirate
Summary: These are four individual stories with the central theme of fear. The first paragraph is a childhood event, the second a present event.
1. Nothing to Fear

**Nothing to Fear **

_"The one permanent emotion of the inferior man is fear - fear of the unknown, the complex, the inexplicable. _

_What he wants above everything else is safety." Henry Louis Mencken_

These are four individual stories with the central theme of fear.

The first paragraph is a childhood event. The second a present event.

I don't own TMNT, don't know Laird/Eastman and have no affiliation with them.

I hope you enjoy the stories.

(Raph's and Leo's are a work in progress, to be posted as soon as humanly possible.)


	2. Michelangelo

**Nothing to Fear**_/Michelangelo_

Ghouls and goblins abounded in the dark. Front yards were full of tombstones, spiderwebs swallowing porches whole. Pumpkins sat on doorsteps, evil faces spitting light towards the unsuspecting. The wind gently blew, adding to the ominous atmosphere. People pushed past them, faces bloodied and limbs torn. Their clothes were tattered, eyes empty. Mikey hung close to his brother's, arm constantly feeling for them as he watched the madness around him. The sky was dark and the streets empty. Doorbells rang in the distance, evil spirits begging for treats. He bit his lip, eyes wide. His brothers turned, tugging him along. They ran up to the porch, surround by other soul snatchers, and one princess. The doorbell echoed in the house as he cowered behind Donny. The door slowly eeked open, the inside dark. Lights appeared above them, eyes hovering with no body. Suddenly a bloodied hand reached out, the group jumping back a bit. Mike pulled his eyes closed tight, fingers digging into Don's arm. Bags fell open as the creature rained candy into them. The door slammed closed quickly sending the children running to the next house. Raph was gone, running ahead of his brothers. Mike hung close to Don as they approached the next house. Raph ran to the porch, eying the silent hay stuffed man spread across a bench. His body limp and lifeless, legs strewn across the porch. One arm was dangling at his side, the other wrapped around a large bowl of snack sized candy bars. Mikey watched quietly as Raph snatched a few from the bowl, dropped them into his bag and bounced back to his brothers. Leo went next, only taking one and safely returning from the scene. Don finally shook Mike's grip from his arm and copied his brothers. "C'mon Mike. We all did it." Raph was pushing him towards the porch. Mike protested, digging his heels into the yards walkway.

"No, Raphie." His quiet voice called out, eyes pleading with his brother. Raph pushed him to the stairs and turned, running back to his brothers on the streets edge. Mike hesitated, looking back at them. All three motioned him on. He bit his lip and swallowed hard, inching up the stairs. He paused at each one, eyes taking in every detail of the scene. Finally he reached the top and faced the sleeping man. His trembling hand slowly reached into the bowl, fingers wrapping around the slick paper.

"GOTCHA!" It screamed, itchy dry fingers wrapping around his wrist, the scarecrow coming to life. Mike screamed, twisting his arm trying to free himself. His bag was sent flying across the porch, his loot spilling everywhere. Mike continued to scream until he was free from the grasp, he turned jumping off the porch. He ran back to his brothers in tears, as they all stood laughing and pointing.

* * *

April's house was quiet and dark, the only light coming from the tv. Mike was sprawled across the couch, asleep. He had promised to watch the house while April and Casey went to the annual Halloween carnival. His brother's were out enjoying themselves, gathering candy with children half their age. Mike had opted to stay home, he'd rather not have anything to do with that vile holiday. The monster movie marathon was more than half over, Mike having seen only a quarter of it. He didn't know why he subjected himself to this every year, knowing his imagination would get the better of him, the frightening images playing in his dreams. Dracula rose from his coffin on screen, an evil laugh emitted from his lips. Mike suddenly awoke, pulse racing and sweat running down his forehead. His eyes took a minute to adjust in the light, finally his senses caught up with him. His breathing finally returned to normal as he rubbed his eyes. He looked around the apartment, everything looked the same, but something was different. A rhythmic dripping sound echoed down the stairs, falling lightly on his ears. Quietly Mike stood and faced the stairs, trying to muster the courage to ascended them. _There's nothing up there Mike, its just your imagination_. He tried to reason with himself, trying to talk himself into going up the stairs. _It's something. Nothing was dripping when everyone left_. His mind argued back. He shook the thought and slowly set his foot on the first stair. Taking a deep breath he steadily climbed a few more, eyes surveying the floor and walls. Finally he reached the top, his hands sliding along the wall as he made his way to the bathroom. The faucet was tightly closed, no water was dripping from it. Mike's pulse began to quicken. _This always happens in the movies_. He reasoned nervously. He exited the bathroom and turned back towards the stairs, the dripping coninuted. It was behind him now, coming from the only other room, a bedroom. Mike swallowed hard, and turned to the open door. It was so dark. He bit his lip and took a deep breath, heading straight for the room. As he approached the room a face suddenly appeared, inches away from him. "BOO!" It cried, its lips stained blood red, its skin white and pasty. Mike jumped back, screaming. His shell crashed into the wall behind him as he tried to regain his footing. The thing, he couldn't see its body in the dark, advanced on him smiling and leering at him. He scrambled to his feet, fingers clawing at the rug below him. Cold fingers wrapped around his ankle, jerking him onto his back. "Gotcha." It laughed, fingers grasping at the face's chin, pulling away the white to reveal green. Mike laid on the floor, wide eyed and breathless, his heart ready to jump out of his body. Above him stood the cruelest brother in the world. Raphael. 

"That's not funny!" Mike screamed, kicking his brother in his stomach. Raph laughed helping his youngest brother to his feet.

"Yeah, it kinda was." Raph argued fending off Mike's punches. The orange clad turtle glared at him, biting his lip. Mike shook his head before reaching out to shove Raph's shoulders.

"No its not. You know I'm afraid of costumes." Mike snapped before desending the stairs. Thankfully the apartment was quiet, no one else had seen the show. Raph joined his brother on the couch, still laughing.


	3. Donatello

**Nothing to Fear**_/Donatello _

The height of the building was beginning to mess with his head, the openness of the city was beautiful but the ant sized vehicles below him turned his stomach. His eyes were wide, watching his brother's leap from one buildings edge to the another. The dark night sky threatened to swallow his brothers as they chased each other across the solid surfaces. He stood frozen in his spot, mouth dry and throat knotted, his eyes began searching - counting - his brothers. One, Mikey laughed like a mad man as he bounded over the edge, landing perfectly on the other side. Two, Raph grinned following the youngest, landing on his heels. Raph chased him down, finally catching him with a soft punch to the shoulder. "You're it!" He exclaimed, dodging his brother's arms and pivoting, running away. Three, Leo smiled quietly watching the two, completely left out of the game. He was amazed when Mikey jumped back onto the solid ground shared by Leo and Don.

"Tag!" He exclaimed, voice still resounding on the building walls in its high pitch. Leo grinned following the youngest, determination in his eyes. Mikey cleared the empty void between the buildings effortlessly. He was the best jumper of the four. Leo followed, making a mad dash for the cement edge, foot scraping the surface. He pushed himself from the edge, feet dangling below his body and his arms out stretched reaching for the edge. Don's mouth opened but no sound came out, his stomach twisted on itself was he watched his oldest brother miss the building. His feet felt heavy and refused to move. Leo hung from the building, fingers grasping at whatever they could, feet swinging wildly trying to find a ledge. Raph rushed to the edge and dropped to his knees. He barked something at Mike, Don couldn't hear. He watched as Raph wrapped his hands around Leo's forearms and began pulling him to the surface, the buildings outer wall tearing at his plastron. Leo was breathless as Raph released his grip. He sat on the flat ground, catching his breath and tending his wounds. Mike knelt beside him and wrapped an arm around Leo's shoulders. Finally air returned to Don's lungs as his throat allowed him to breath. Everything turned into a blur as he ran towards the buildings edge. "DONNY!"

* * *

"We were kids." Leo's voice was deeper now. Don nodded, eyes surveying the rooftop. The night wasn't as dark as it had been then. More buildings were built, more lights were used, more people lived here now. He stood in the center of the rooftop, frozen. Leo stood a foot away, watching his brother's chest rapidly rise and fall. Panic was starting to return to Don's body. His mind was crippled in fear. 

"I know." He whispered. Leo nodded still keeping a protective eye on his brother. Don tried to shake the feeling and slowly made his way to the edge of the building. It wasn't the same one, that one was gone, a taller one rebuilt in its place. His eyes widened as he dared to peek over the edge. The streetlights cast tiny rings on the ground broken by the streets curb. His stomach flipped as a car drove past, no bigger than a bug. Its headlights illuminated the street below, tiny broken white lines running down its middle. Don swallowed hard, trying to get past the knot in his throat. He looked straight down now, his entire perspective shifting. Everything seemed to fall away, the ground falling out below him. His head started swimming, his eyes blurring. Vertigo set in. Don managed a soft whimper as his body crumbled below him, knees scraping the rough roof. Leo rushed to his brother, wrapping his arms around Don's middle and pulling him away from the side. His breathing was heavy and his pulse rapid. He clenched his eyes closed, fighting the dizzy feeling. Leo sat behind his brother, arms still wrapped tight, and began gently rocking his trembling body.

"It's okay Donny." Leo cooed softly, trying to calm him. He nodded raising his chin off his chest. His breathing slowly began to return to normal, his body stopped shaking.

"I can't." His voice was barely above a whisper. Leo nodded, not wanting to push his brother. He slowly stood, offering a hand to Don. His fingers gently wrapped around his brother's wrist as he helped him off the ground. Don finally choked out a sigh, following Leo to the fire escape. He tightly wrapped his fingers around the cold steel as they made their way to the ground, the building slowly growing taller above them.


End file.
